There are also no windscreen wipers, with a special coating on
the screen designed to keep occupants seeing clearly in the
wet.

"This car has given us the opportunity to push out the
boundaries of Saab design, to explore new directions without any
constraint," explains Anthony Lo, GM Europe's director of advanced
design. "It represents our vision of what a high performance car
from Saab could look like."

"We have focused on harnessing the visual potential of Saab's
aviation roots, as well as introducing design elements in lighting
and instrumentation that have been inspired by our Scandinavian
experience."

Despite disappointing global sales and question marks hanging
over the brand's longevity, the multi-million dollar Aero X is a
fresh injection of ingenuity and excitement for a brand struggling
to make it in a hard-fought luxury car segment.

"This concept shows the exciting possibilities that are open to
us as we evolve a more progressive design language for the brand,"
says Saab managing director Jan Ake Jonsson.

GM of Europe's executive director Bryan Nesbitt says the Aero X
is all about harnessing the company's heritage for inspiration and
direction for a brand that appears to have lacked both over the
last decade.

"This study shows how the strength of the Saab brand heritage
can inspire bold, innovative design," says Nesbitt. "As we move
forward with new Saab product, we will remain focused on carefully
cultivating this brand equity in the context of Scandinavian design
values."

The body of the Aero X is made of carbon fibre designed reduce
weight, which is down to an estimated 1500kg.

Despite the Swedish influence, the Aero X has a hint of
Australia beneath its bonnet; the twin-turbocharged 2.8-litre V6 is
part of the Global V6 family that's made in Melbourne.

But, in an effort to leverage Saab's environmentally-friendly
image, the V6 has been tuned to run on 100 per cent ethanol. In
doing so it delivers 300kW of power and 500Nm of torque.

"Turbocharging and bioethanol make excellent partners," says
Saab powertrain executive director Kjell ac Bergström. "In
developing this BioPower V6 engine we
have been able to take the next step by using E100 fuel, pure 100%
bioethanol.

"Although the engine is optimized for E100, the engine
management system will still make adjustments for any
bioethanol/gasoline blend in the tank. So, if there is no
bioethanol available, the customer can still use gasoline at any
time."

While the Aero X is very much in its concept faze, computer
simulations claim it can reach 100km/h in 4.9 seconds.

That sort of acceleration also comes courtesy of the
all-wheel-drive system and seven-speed manual transmission with
twin computer-operated clutches; a system similar to that used in
various Audis and Volkswagens.

There is also an active chassis system, which monitors
suspension input and uses a computer to adjust the shock absorbers
to the conditions up to 100 times per second.

Saab has also done away with conventional light globes
throughout the Aero X, instead using more efficient and
longer-lasting LEDs, a technology the company says "will be
featured increasingly in future Saab products".